The federal government is pushing ahead with the reprivatization of gas importer Sefe

Sefe is by far the largest gas importer in Germany; it was nationalized a few years ago. Now, however, the federal government is apparently pushing ahead with the re-privatization of the company: As the “Börsen-Zeitung” reports, the Federal Ministry of Economics is currently looking for law firms to provide legal advice on the project. The paper relies on tender documents. The contract should be awarded by November 1st at the latest.

At the same time, according to the report, investment banks are applying to the state development bank KfW for mandates for privatization. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the federal government rescued and nationalized the former Gazprom subsidiary with around six billion euros. The value of the company based in Berlin is now estimated at this amount. It was fundamentally agreed in the government coalition that Sefe should be privatized again.

However, according to the report, the interest of potential investors has so far been limited. Sefe's financial recovery is less advanced than its competitor Uniper, which is also currently being privatized.

Sefe stands for “Securing Energy for Europe”. ‌The company's import volume is ‌around twice that of Uniper. The company therefore plays a central role in ensuring security of supply. In 2025, Sefe achieved sales of around 15.5 billion euros with almost 2,200 employees.

In 2025 it became known that Sefe was increasingly buying LNG from Russia, thereby pouring money into Putin's war chest. The company could also have violated EU sanctions.